Protection is all I have to offer
by xkawaiichix
Summary: Sakura despised him for what he had done...yet she couldn't help but go with her instincts and risk everything...just for him...


Protection is all I have to offer

**Ah, I couldn't help it guys, this one is kinda sad as well but what can I say? It depends what mood I'm in, but I PROMISE you, I will make a funny one, i've actually already got one in my mind at the moment, lol. So yeh, bare with me! Enjoy!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own naruto, the guy who created it does, but you knew that, lol**

**Warning: Slight manga spoilers**

There was an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was loss. Somehow, along the path she had lost her way. She had lost the means to live for Sasuke. She had grown to despise him. Loathe and detest him. What he had done was unforgiveable. He left. He then saw them after two and a half years. The arsehole didn't even give a damn. Now, another two years after that and Sakura had completely given up. It was no longer her goal.

_'I will not try and find you anymore.' _Love, she could not control it, but she could block it out. She had learnt to deal with her affections in her own way. Naruto had become concerned. Everyone had in fact. Where was Haruno Sakura? The girl that cared?

"Well...i'm leaving now," Naruto announced after many minutes of them sitting alone in Sakura's bedroom. There was tension in the air.

Sakura frowned. "Goodbye." It was not meaningful, nor emotional.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto waited for her to look at him. She didn't. "I...I have to do this."

"I know," Sakura said quickly. "I'm letting you."

Naruto nodded as he bit his lip. Not once had he ever seen Sakura act so cold and distant then at this very moment. "And you won't come with me?"

"What good will it do? Sasuke is an idiot, you know that!" Sakura yelled. "He's getting stronger...he might kill you. Orichimaru is dead-"

Naruto held out a book to Sakura. It was a small leather bound book and Sakura was completely thrown off guard. "I couldn't make much sense of it," he admtted.

"What is this?" Sakura asked, scanning the pages.

"Kabuto's info book on Akatsuki. He gave it to me. As you know, he is 30 Orichimaru but he works alone now," Naruto explained. "It's sorta complicated but...I thought you could look into it while I was gone?"

Sakura smiled. "Yeah...I guess I will. It'll give me something to do." She immediately began reading through it, memorizing keywords that seemed to jump out of the page.

Naruto, knowing she had forgotten about Sasuke, headed for the door.

"Naruto...I'll miss you," Sakura said earnestly.

Naruto faced his pink haired friend and grinned his childlike grin. "I know you will, I'll miss you two Sakura-chan!" He gave a thumbs up, before leaving her bedroom.

Sakura smiled weakly before returning her gaze on the book. Something caught her eye. It made her eyes widen in shock. _'And you couldn't make sense of this Naruto?' _The words on the page left her slightly worried, though she had stopped caring long ago...

_After Deidara being left in a coma, Akatsuki are now very aware of The Uchiha's growth. Uchiha Sasuke has gone in searh for Akatsuki, but it is of no doubt they'll find him first. As long as their first priority in Konoha is complete. _

Sakura nearly dropped the book. This had been writted 3 weeks ago. It was the last entry made in this book. What priority was this? Why was Konoha involved? It had occured to Sakura, as she became lost in so many questions that Naruto had not given this book to Tsunade-sama. He had instead given it to Sakura. But why? Sakura shuddered as she placed the book under her pillow. She knew enough to know that whatever Akatsuki were planning, it wouldn't be long before Sakura was to meet them...

------

Sasuke had not expected this at all. Deep down, his thoughts for Konoha still remained unbalanced. It had grown to become a taboo subject. None of his teammates mentioned the leaf village. Juugo, well, he didn't say much, Suigetsu ranted on about random crap and Karin was following him around, which drove him crazy. It was like a surreal version of team 7. No matter how many times Sasuke tried to escape from all that, it came back to haunt him. In this case, it chose to come back as one slutty psychic and two derranged men with bad hair. Sasuke sighed heavily. Konoha would come into view soon.

"So, how do you feel about returning?" Karin asked him.

Sasuke remained staring ahead. "Hn..." he shrugged before walking past her.

Karin nearly fainted with annoyance.

"Are you ready to go?" Sasuke asked finally.

Suijetsu stood, picking up his sword. "Yeah, i've been ready for ages."

Juugo merely nodded.

"Good." Sasuke began walking, the other three following him. He stared at the sky above. The night was beginning to crawl across the clouds in a stealthy manner.

-----

Sakura felt comfortable sleeping in her bed. She had been quite busy lately and had not yet gotten the chance to have a good night's sleep. It felt rewarding to feel the thick blankets over her tired body. Her head seemed to sink into the pillow, allowing the blossom fragrance to hit her nose. She just loved it when her mother changed her bed into freshly made sheets. Nuzzling into the pillow some more, she managed to relase a large smile and a sigh of relief.

_'At last...'_

-----

Tsunade stared down at the paperwork and sighed. It wasn't everyday that she had this much work to do. Tonght was just one of those nights. She massaged her temples in frustration. Nothing was going to get her out of this one. It was already one o'clock in the morning.

Suddenly, a shinobi burst through the door, his eyes wide with terror.

"The Akatsuki are here!" The man shouted.

"What?" Tsunade retorted, shooting up from her seat. "Why are they here? What do they want?"

"They're searching for the kyuubi, however this time, they've chosen to not be discreet about it," the man told her.

_'Fortunately Naruto is on a mission...but we must protect our peole.' _"Get the ANBU ready."

The ninja nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

-----

Sakura groaned in her sleep. What was all the noise about this time? What was so freaking important that they had to shout about it? She opened her eyes, threw off the covers and went to the window. She opened it and was about to shout at her noisy neighbours when she witnessed what was happening. Sakura gasped and immeditately went in search for some clothing. Dressing in her usual uniform and arming herself with kunais and alike, she sped out of the house and onto the street. The rest seemed to be a blur. Already, shinobi and ANBU had piled onto the road in order to stop the Akatsuki from going any further. Sakura realised, as she ran towards the fight, that only some of the Akatsuki were there. The leader and Deidara were not there, that was for sure.

Sakura could see Kisame using his samehada in the distance. She could see another man with white hair that had been scraped back.

And another, mostly covered, but with glowing eyes that seemed to bore into the souls of anyone that looked at him was also there.

Sakura had calculated that two pairs from the Akatsuki had obviously come for Naruto. After all, he was the last jinchurriki. But there was one missing. Probably the one currently in hunt for Naruto. The others were just a distraction. Even amongst Akatsuki members, that...man was slightly feared. Sakura skidded to a halt. There was no need for her to run into a fight that could be handled. All of Konoha were focusing on these three Akatsuki members, but no one was focusing on...him. _'No, they don't need me. Even though Naruto isn't here, I have to stop him before he finds out, otherwise he'll start searching for him!' _Sakura began running in the other direction, panting heavily. She knew it was foolish to face this man alone. He was an S class criminal and hated by many. He was stronger than most and was merciless. Sakura however would not let Naruto get hurt. He had always protected her. Now, it was the only thing Sakura could offer her friend. Protection.

-----

Uchiha Itachi opened the door to Naruto's apartment, only to find it empty. His face was blank as his eyes scanned the room with interest. He stepped forward and began searching through the rooms, as swift as a ghost. All rooms were empty and no chakra could be sensed. He made no attempt to groan at this as he turned for the door. Appearing in the doorway was a young kunoichi. Her hair pink with her hands balled int fists. She was glaring at him.

_'I may despise Sasuke but this person is heartless and what he's done is unforgiveable.' _"He's not here!" Sakura hissed.

"And who might you be?" Itachi asked the girl in a casual tone. His eyes were blood red, pouring into her as she glared at him.

He looked like Sasuke. He acted like Sasuke. She hated him like Sasuke. "Haruno Sakura," she told him confidently. "And you're not going anywhere Itachi."

"I'm flattered you know me," Itachi said, taking a step forward.

Her instincts told her to take a step back but she remained firm. "Everyone knows you. You're the arsehole that mudered your own clan and destroyed Sasuke."

"You know Sasuke? And you obviously know the vessel..."

Sakura could have sworn she saw a flicker of delight in his eyes as he looked up at her. "I was part of their team, of course I know them! And you're not getting your hands on Naruto, no matter what I have to do!" Sakura began focusing her chakra on her fists, ready to fight.

Itachi however, was no longer looking at her. Sakura became even more angry. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It filled her with warmth. It also made her shudder. She turned to face the person behind her and her eyes turned wide.

"Sakura..." Sasuke said, remaining eye contact with his brother. "This is my fight."

Sakura glared at the young Uchiha. "No Sasuke, don't interfere. I'm protecting Naruto, get out of here!"

Sasuke was slightly taken back as he looked down at her. Her eyes were stern and unblinking as she stared at him. "You can't take him on. You'd be dead."

"I'm not weak Sasuke!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura, this is my fight," Sasuke repeated. "I came here for Itachi, I plan to fulfill what I came to do. Don't get involved with this."

Sakura would not move from the doorway, nor would Sasuke remove his hand from her shoulder.

Itachi merely watched as the two argued. He was not bothered if he got slightly held up...

"Sasuke, you're starting to annoy me," Sakura told him.

"Hn...you are annoying me as well." He gently shifted her away from the door with his hand and then approached his brother.

"You're much more calm now Sasuke. Have you learnt now that you should never charge at a ninja and reveal your move?" Itachi teased, yet his expression was still. "All those months being Orichimaru's lapdog must have paid off..."

"Hn, you think that is going to anger me? I killed Orichimaru. I beat the crap out of your little blonde friend. Now, i'm going to make you wish you were as dead as our family."

Sakura flinched at those words. Sasuke had indeed become a different person. He was not thinking on instinct. He was approaching the situation maturely. She was stunned by this. Why had he chosen to be so calm towards the man that slaughtered their clan?

"Let's settle this," Sasuke said, but before he could remove his kasagnai, Itachi landed a punch on him that sent him knocking through the ceiling and collapsing onto the roof. Itachi made a slight chuckle as he jumped through the hole and began to attack his brother. The wind came shooting through the room and Sakura could only look upwards and listen to the grunting noises from above. _'I have to do something...'_

_-----_

Sasuke lunged at his brother, causing them both to fall onto the rough tiles of the roof. Many fatal blows were exchanged as blood leaked out of their bodies. The brothers were full of rage. Every drop of blood only caused them to hit harder.

-----

Sakura didn't know what to do. They were Uchihas and far more powerful than her. Her main skills were medical and chakra flow, she could not possibly help anyone. _'I may hate Sasuke...but I hate Itachi more...' _Sakura forced herself to hoist herself up on the roof. There was nothing else she could do.

Sasuke turned around to see Sakura climbing up onto the roof.

"Sakura? What are you doing? Get away from here!" Sasuke screamed at her as his brother kicked him in the ribs.

"We're still a team Sasuke, I can still help you!" Sakura told him. "I may not like you but I don't exactly like Itachi either!" She surged chakra through her hand until a spark of green spat out from it, licking the air. "Sasuke, you might wanna hold onto something..." She punched through the tiles, causing the entire roof to break and explode. Itachi lost his footing as tiles shot up in the air.

Sasuke was surprised. She had learnt to control her chakra perhaps better than himself. _'Why do you go so far for me Sakura?'_

-----

The outstanding youthful Rock Lee (cough) turned to see the roof of an apartment explode into dust. He was shocked at what he saw. Sasuke, Sakura an Akatsuki member were all on the roof. "How unfortuate that Sakura has found herself in the midst of trouble! I must find Naruto and tell him myself!" Rock Lee sped off into the other direction, going as fast as he possibly could.

----

Naruto walked slowly through the forest, releasing a long yawn. He had resorted to walking a lot slower. After all, he had all the time in the world. _'When I find Sasuke I'm gonna drag his arse bag to Konoha and make him eat it for breakfast!' _Naruto thought angrily. He really missed ramen. He hadn't had it since 7 hours ago, yet it had felt longer. He also hadn't made much progress on his travel. He had netiher been running nor walking quickly. Its not as if he hadn't done this mission several times before. Any attempt to retrieve Sasuke usually failed so Naruto decided he would walk a little slower this time. Admire the trees...or, stop at the next rest stop or go to the loo behind a tree. The stubborn Uchiha could wait another day or two. He seemed perfectly pleased with himself currently.

Suddenly, he heard a rustle from above him. He placed his fingers in a hand seal sign, ready for an attack but there was none. Instead, a very green looking thing appeared in front of him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? UGH!" Naruto screamed, falling back in terror. He looked up to see a very familiar person looking down on him. Naruto sweat dropped. "Oh."

"Naruto, as much as I would have loved to react to that, there is an emergency. Sasuke is in Konoha and some members of the Akatsuki have attacked our village. Sakura is also there. Might I also add that Sasuke looks injured. I think he might need assistance."

Naruto had trouble taking all this in. It was too much of a shock but he knew spending time on the ground wasn't going ot help. "How long did it take for you to get here?"

"An hour," Rock Lee said.

"Then we have to leave now."

-----

Sakura felt the force of a heavy fist being pushed into her stomach as she was flung backwards. She gasped and felt the ground collide with her head. Dots began to rush in front of her eyes as the pain seared into her body. Itachi was strong, no doubt about it. His attention however was no longer focused on her but on his brother and they were now continuing with beating the crap out of each other. Sakura sat up, feeling her head. Blood was sticking to the strands of her hair. She winced as she stood. She could not allow Itachi to win this fight, no matter who he was facing. She allowed Sasuke to use his fire jutsu, she wasn't exactly going to jump in and get burnt in the process. Itachi half dodged it. Itachi then appeared behind Sasuke and hit him from behind. Sasuke turned and landed a powerful punch also but to his horror, the figure turned into a piece of wood and he felt the sudden tearing of his skin as he was forced forward. A kunai had been forced right through his arm and was now stuck in the wood. The pain was immense as his arm began to seep with blood. He struggled to get free. He had not seen it coming. Itachi had used a clever diversion to get Sasuke to turn his back. Itachi then took his brother's katana and prepared to pierce it through Sasuke's heart.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as her legs began moving towards the two figures.

Sasuke removed the kunai from his arm and was about to dodge out of the way when Sakura pushed him out of the way, landing on the ground and colliding with the powerful katana. Blood spurting from her chest and mouth as she collapsed onto the ground. Sasuke gazed in shock as his ex teammate fell to the ground. He summoned chidori in his hands and ran to his brother. Itachi turned to see Sasuke, faster than ever before, faster than Itachi himself, charging at him. The chidori surged through his hand and pulsated into Itachi's heart. Blood exploded from the inside. He stared wide eyed at his younger brother. Through rage he had accomlpished something he believed impossible. Through hate he had finally regained his revenge. Through love he had mudered a fellow Uchiha.

Sakura watched from the ground, clutching at her wound in agony. She tried to gather up chakra to heal her wound but too much damage had been done. Her heart had burst and she was bleeding badly. _'I'm...going to...'_

Sasuke skidded onto the ground beside her. He was angry, mainly at her. His hands were drenched in his brother's blood. He didn't care about that.

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke demanded, cupping her head.

"I...don't know why," Sakura said. "My body just...moved."

Sasuke understood only too well. He lowered his head. "You were the last person I wanted to get hurt."

"I...hated you for so long Sasuke. You left and you didn't care." She coughed.

"I left for your protection Sakura. I never meant for this to happen," Sasuke told her.

"It was my fault...promise me you won't blame yourself..." Sakura could feel the blood draining from her body.

Sasuke leant forward to touch her face, surprised when he met her icy cold skin. "I promised I would always protect you..."

"You did what you had to do," Sakura whispered.

"I'm sorry Sakura," Sasuke whispered back.

"I'm sorry too...you can't help but protect the ones you love..." She fell dead in his arms. Sasuke's chest tightened. He clenched his fists in anger, his teeth gritted. And then...he couldn't help but show his emotion...

-----

Naruto arrived to find buildings destroyed. The Akatsuki had retreated and all seemed quiet. Rock Lee said his goodbyes as he searched for his team. Naruto immeditaely headed for Sakura's house. He prayed she was alright. And Sasuke...he would have to be here somewhere. On the way he passed his apartment and paused. The roof above his room had been exploded into bits. He could tell this was Sakura's doing. She had been here. Swiftly, he moved on, eager to see what had happened. Her house seemed undamaged by the attack. He was relieved. He leapt up into the window that belonged to Sakura's bedroom. He hesitantly leapt into her room. He gazed at the bed and his heart seemed to drop. Sakura was lying on the bed, as white as ever, dressed in a fresh pair of clothing, with her hair neatly brushed and no sign of blood at all. Her eyes were closed and she looked serene. Something was wrong. Surely Sakura would not have slept through all the commotion?

_'No...Rock Lee saw her...' _Naruto appraoched the young kunoichi and gingerly touched her face. It was cold. His hand immeditaly went away from her. It felt like he had no breath in his lungs...like he was going to vomit. Who did this? Why did this have to happen? Naruto kneeled by Sakura's bed and buried his head on her dead body. If only he hadn't gone looking for Saskue...if only he could have protected her.

-----

**1 week later**

Sasuke looked down at Sakura's tombstone as the rain hit the ground fiercely. He could have chose to go away with his team, but he told them to wait for him on the borderline. Itachi was dead, but Sasuke had other priorities. He would destroy the Akatsuki, but before doing so, having a long rest. He didn't understand his feelings towards Sakura...if it was love or friendship. Sasuke couldn't understand how Sakura could have done that, but then again, he didn't understand why he protected Naruto from Haku. It was one of those things. You couldn't help it. It was protection. It was part of love.

"I was the second to know of her death...after you," Naruto said from behind him. He was not angry. "I know why you weren't at the funeral. But I know why you are here now."

Sasuke said nothing, but merely listened to Naruto.

"I'm done trying to find you Sasuke. You've only made it harder. But what you did for Sakura was..." Naruto shut his eyes. "She would have appreciated it..."

"I did it out of respect, she deserves it," Sasuke said quietly. "You will let me go?" He turned around to face his friend.

Naruto stood aside to let him pass. "This time I will. But only this time."

"I understand," Sasuke said simply as he walked past his ex teammate.

"She hated you...but she loved you..." Naruto said.

"I know...exactly how she feels," Sasuke said.

Naruto raised his eyes and spun round. But Sasuke had already gone.

"Perhaps I'll see you again...loser."

Naruto smiled slightly. He could live with that.

Sasuke opened the Konoha gates and left, with that thought in mind.

If the tombstone truly did hold her name, it would not matter to him. Wether she was truly dead, his hopes would last forever. The scent of blossoms would still linger in the air, and he could still smell it like she was there. He would never lose hope and still hold on; alive or dead, this world was theirs and the only proof that she had him...and he had her.

**Ok, I'm soz, I can't help it, I know somebody keeps dying but this story popped into my head and it was just...you know, one of those things, lol! I think it's my longest yet. I hope you've enjoyed it! It's been so fun to write! PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU! XXXXXXXXXX**


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